Planning skylark plots now can benefit wildlife and farmers

Planning skylark plots now can benefit wildlife and farmers

Farmers can give wildlife, and the Campaign for the Farmed Environment, a helping hand by planning skylark plots into their Autumn drilling.

RSPB and NFU advisors are urging farmers to consider putting skylark plots in place either by turning off the drill during sowing or by spraying out patches at a later date. As well as providing a boost for wildlife the plots are also counted as a key target option in the Campaign for the Farmed Environment.

Skylark plots are small uncropped patches in cereal fields allowing skylarks to forage when crops become too dense for them. Skylark populations have halved since 1970 but the simple measure has been proven to boost breeding productivity by up to 50 per cent.

Richard Winspear, RSPB’s head of farmland advice, said: “Farmers across the UK who are currently sowing overwintering crops should consider this option which is proven to provide benefits for wildlife.

“They are very simple to deliver – the drill can either be switched off during drilling or the patches can be sprayed out afterwards – and they require less than a third of one per cent of total land area.

“It’s something any farmer can do to benefit wildlife and it also means they can support the industry’s Campaign for the Farmed Environment.”

Dr Andrea Graham, NFU countryside advisor, said: “Under Entry level Stewardship skylark plots are one of the best paying options for the area of land they occupy and are starting to become more common in arable fields across the country.

“Now that skylark plots can be sprayed out this is a more practical option for farmers. They are one of the key target options in the Campaign, so the more we see in our countryside, the more successful the Campaign will be.”

RSPB research has shown that if 10 to 20 per cent of winter wheat crops in an area feature skylark plots then the local skylark population will stop declining Skylarks use the plots for foraging rather than nesting. In fields of winter cereal without plots, birds often find the crops too dense by the end of spring and are forced out.

Work on developing the plots has found the ideal number is two per hectare and they should be sited away from the edge of the field. Typical plots are 4x4 metres.

Information on the benefits of skylark plots and how to implement them, along with a video filmed at the RSPB’s Hope Farm can be found at www.rspb.org.uk/skylarkplots